Different
by Vahnen The Dragonlord
Summary: The story of one who is...well, different.
1. Chapter 1: Discovery

Author's Note: No, I haven't died. I've ben on haitus for a very long while, but I'm back now, and I've redone all the chapters of Different. I've also got a few new chapters in store.

Only one question remains, though...was I missed?

Chapter 1: Discovery

My name is Ventrium, and I am different. The fact I have a name tells me I'm different. I don't remember being named that, but I know I have one. My brethren disowned me, the world rejected me. An outcast from both sides, yet somehow I am part of both.

When I was born, I immediately knew I was different. I was smarter than my brothers, and although the Entity commanded me, I ignored it. I think maybe I was too smart. Jealousy is one of the most primitive emotions, yet also one of the most powerful, ignoring all bonds of brotherhood in the mindless lust for what another has. Kind of funny, in a way. Beings that can not comprehend ownership can want something I have to the point of killing me. In the end I had to run like a coward. There were just too many of my brothers, and only one of me. I had to leave to keep from being destroyed. Can a half truly be killed?  
I did the equivalent of run until I could go no more. I came to the first place I sensed. Landing between two buildings, I tried to get a sense of where I was. The antennae on the back of my head had long grown past my hair and down my back. I used them and found the world's identity, Radiant Garden. I the used the alley's darkness to my advantage, to get a good look at the inhabitants.  
I realized with a fair degree of surprise that they were almost like me. They were mostly around my height, a strange sight, for most of my brothers had been shorter then I. I looked at my hands. They were pure black. I looked at the people again, and realized that they, for the most part, had light skin. Some had darker shades of brown, but none were solid black. I watched them for a bit, and then I came to the most startling realization in my entire life.  
I was completely naked.  
Never in my life had I even thought about the meaning of the word "naked". But nevertheless, I had a strong feeling I needed something to cover me. There were objects I recognized as "clothes" hanging on a string nearby. I took a "shirt" of the string. I found it strange that I remembered what it was called, stranger still that I knew how to put it on. I also took some "pants". Buckling the belt was both an unfamiliar and familiar sensation. How did I know all these things? I knew I was different, but how different was I really?  
After putting on the clothes, I felt a bit better. I looked again at the people on the street. They would never accept me. My brothers drove me out because I was too different. They would undoubtedly do the same. Then, as if to confirm my thoughts, a woman walked through a door to the alley. We looked at each other for quite possibly the longest second of my life.  
Then she screamed. One of those blood-curdling, beet-red screams. She started to flail as if to defend herself from me. I raised my hands toward her, to show I meant no harm. A small voice wondered, how did I learn this gesture? But it went largely ignored, as most of my thoughts were directed toward this woman. She must have took my gesture as hostile, for she ran into the house screaming, "Bernie! Get your gun, Bernie, there's another one of the damn things, and it's stealing your clothes"  
Stealing? It was like I did not remember the meaning of the word until just then. But what amazed me more was that she was speaking. Saying words. I wondered if I could do that.  
My pondering was interrupted by a mountain of man bursting through the doorway, gun in hand. He glared at me with pure hatred in his eyes.  
"Ye won't get me or my family's hearts, ya monster!" He then leveled the gun at me. I couldn't remember just what it was, but I remembered that it was very dangerous. I raised my hands to my face just as he fired.


	2. Chapter 2: Confrontation

Chapter 2: Confrontation

The bullet bounced off my arms with a sharp kapwing. The man looked at me in amazement. I looked at my arms in amazement. The bullet had ripped through the shirt, but had not gone past the thin shell that had always covered my arms. My armor was a lot stronger than I expected. The man recovered and fired again. That shot, too, bounced off my arms. He backed up and shot three rounds in my chest. My arms moved faster than the bullets, catching each one and sending it ricocheting off. He backed up to his doorway and fired until his gun went click. At about the sixth shot, I began to get cocky. I reached out my hand and caught a slug in my palm. I slowly opened my fist and showed the man I hadn't a scratch. This proved enough for him. He ran inside and slammed the door. I heard him shouting and moving things against the door. "Call the Committee, Phyllis, this one's different!" came the cry from behind the door. I was still in a bit of shock over the amount of information I had processed in the last half hour. The Committee? I wanted to know who made up this committee, but I also knew that they might mean me harm, as this man did. No longer concerned with my appearance, I ran as fast as I could out of the alleyway and into the street. I heard people gasp and scream as I ran past. Why were they so revolted at me? What had I done? Maybe the reason was that I looked too different. At this point, I had no idea where I was going. When I came to a large plaza, I stopped to catch my breath. The plaza was deserted, probably because of me. I had not even begun to breathe when two people stepped out from a nearby building. One was male and had a long grey blade with an unusual hilt, not unlike the gun that the other man had tried to shoot me with. He had spiky hair and a black leather jacket. When he turned toward me, I could see a scar both on his face and in his eyes. The other was female, with a metal star that had four sharp edges. She had short black hair and even shorter black shorts. When she saw me, her smile turned into a frown. They both drew their weapons and faced me. I had no idea whether to turn and run, or to stay and fight. Certainly, I had no intention of hurting them, but they seemed to think different.  
"Is that the one we were called about?" asked the female.  
"It looks like it," the male curtly answered.  
"What is it doing wearing clothes"  
"Does it matter? It's not like we can ask it"  
At that, they both charged.  
I was startled, to stay the least. Why did everyone want to attack me?  
Strangely, I could feel a sense of excitement running through me. Why was I excited, happy even, that I was being attacked? The man charged me first. He swung his blade in a sideways arc. I blocked with one arm, and quickly backed up. I didn't want to fight. Did I?  
Next the girl threw her large star at me. In my mind I directed my arm up to block. But instead, my reflexes took over, and I caught it. I caught it.  
Still in shock, my arms, which, along with the rest of my body seemed to have a mind of its own, tossed back the star. The girl caught it with ease, and eyed me warily. "What is this, Squall?" she asked her companion.  
Squall seemed to frown as he pointed his blade to me.  
"Not sure. Not like anything I've ever seen. The Heartless must be getting stronger, or at least better trained"  
Heartless? Was he talking about me?  
The ninja cocked her head to one side.  
"I didn't know they could get trained"  
Squall shrugged, then seemed to focus on the point of his blade. A quick shot of energy shot from the end of it, directly at me. While my first reaction was to panic, something else flowed over me. A sense of calm. I calmly blocked it with an arm. The ninja looked shocked, to say the least.  
"Leon, it missed"  
I was a bit confused now. What was his name? Leon or Squall. Maybe one was a nickname. Leon/Squall was getting angry now. Or frustrated, at least. I watched the muscles in his neck tense up, and his eyes blazed. I began backing up. I didn't want to get in a fight. Why would I want to fight? Why, when everything in me was screaming that I didn't want to fight, I wanted to. It was like there were to parts of me, one primitive side, instinctive, wanting to preserve itself, and a complex side that wanted to fight, to defeat those who attacked me. The urge to fight was overpowering the urge to run.  
So when Leon/Squall charged, I met him. The whole time, I was saying no. But still, I met his attack.  
He cut to the left, and I blocked. Then high to my right. I blocked again. The next swipe came at my feet, and I leapt into the air, spinning to the side and landing. My muscles seemed to be warming up, slipping into a well used niche. I found myself standing in what felt to me to be a natural pose, feet spread, arms up. A fighting stance.  
I was blocking, jumping, and spinning like a fighter. My reflexes acted on their own. I was standing, in a pose I didn't recognize, but seemed natural. I must have learned these things at some point. But why didn't I remember learning to fight? Or anything, other then my name. Why was I different from the others?  
And why did these two want to kill me?  
These thoughts ran through my head as Squall/Leon charged. As he reached me, he leapt over my head. I reflexively spun with him. He stuck his blade out before him, sticking it into the ground. He spun around it, kicking out and striking me in the chest with his boot. I flew backwards, landing on one hand and hopping back to my feet. My antennae flapped around as I righted myself. Into that stance.  
A flicker of movement caught my eye to the left. I instinctively turned and ducked, and the star flew over my head. Then Leon/Squall was on me, striking ferociously with his blade. I blocked with my arms, again and again. Then he leapt backwards, giving me a moment to catch my breath. That was when I noticed I was breathing hard. In fact, I wasn't breathing. At all. The entire battle, I hadn't taken in a breath. I could, if I tried. But I didn't need it. I didn't need air. Something told me to breathe, but something else told me it was a useless activity. If I didn't need it, why did my mind scream for it?  
I had no more time to consider it. He charged, and I raised my hands up, catching the blade in my hands.  
"Yuffie, now"  
Suddenly the star was streaking towards me. Pressing the blade between my hands, I flipped over it, catching Leon/Squall's face on my heel. I somersaulted to my feet, as he hit the ground hard. "Squall"  
Yuffie ran to him. I just stood there, in a bit of shock. I hadn't meant to kick him. But then, he had been trying to kill me. Wasn't kicking him alright? I didn't know anymore. Everything was so confusing. But I thought that at the very least, I was done fighting. That is, until another person arrived. He was shorter then Leon/Squall, with spiky blonde hair. He was dressed in black clothes, with a red sash, silver borders, and huge shoes.  
He looked shocked to see the scene before him. Yuffie looked at him, and brightened. Leon/Squall got to his feet. While I knew this was my time to leave, I felt rooted to the spot. This boy…was different than the other two.  
"Sora, just in time. We have a Heartless for you to take care of"  
Sora seemed to see me for the first time. He grinned confidently.  
"Sure, Leon"  
He held out his hand, and a sword materialized. But it was toothy, looking more like a key. I felt something about that blade, that it was bad. I did not know why I felt that way, but I feared the blade more than anything else.  
Then Sora was upon me. His first strike was easy enough to block, so I did.  
But when the blade hit my arm, it burned. I pulled it back suddenly, and had to drop to the ground to avoid his next strike. I rolled to the side, missing his blade striking the ground where I had just lay. He rested his weight on his back foot, then pushed forward. In a rush of air, and a quick spin, he was upon me. He struck with his blade. I crossed my arms, gritting my teeth against the burn. He catapulted over me, landing past me. Then almost instantly he back flipped, striking at me with his sword. His momentum, and the strength of the attack, knocked me to the ground. As I lay on my back, I caught the teeth of the blade with my hands. Oh, how it burned. As I lay there, with Sora above me, I caught his gaze. And held it. And, where pure determination used to be, now there was something else.  
Blazing, white hot pain clouded my mind. Still, I forced my way through it. What was in the young man's eyes?

Then I remembered. It was realization. Sora had just realized I was different. 


	3. Chapter 3: Realization

Chapter 3: Realization

I looked at him, and he looked at me, and I saw his eyes soften a tiny bit.  
"Sora! What are you waiting for? Just kill it!" Yuffie yelled from nearby.  
I fought the acidy burning in my hands and struggled with a forgotten part of my mind.  
"It's a monster, Sora. Why are you stalling?" asked Leon.  
My mind found a long forgotten path to my mouth. I would not let the pain stop me. I had to…  
"Kill it, Sora"  
…somehow…  
"C'mon ,Sora, I'm getting bored"  
…tell…  
"If you don't do it, I will"  
…Sora…  
"I…am…not…a…monster"  
Sora's eyes turned from indecision to shock. Leon and Yuffie stopped yelling. My voice was dry and cracked, and it was forced from my mouth. The exertion needed to merely talk at this point was almost too much. I began to get dizzy from the pain and weakness. Sora raised his Keyblade so it wasn't touching me, but the pain still lingered a bit. I got to my feet and stumbled. I didn't know where. I just knew I had to escape. I stumbled as fast as I could, but the others did not give chase, still too shocked to move. My vision blurred as I moved, and I looked back to see if they were chasing me. With a start, Sora snapped out of his confusion and ran toward me, weapon drawn. I knew then that this blade was evil. I also knew it's name. Keyblade. A primitive part of my mind told me to run as fast as I could, to get away from the cursed Blade. All my weakness faded as a primal fear awakened in me. I felt a burst of adrenaline, and I got on all fours and ran as fast as I could. Something about how I was running was comforting, but it also felt wrong. I didn't really think about it. Or anything, for that matter. I only remember running, then falling asleep at the first place that looked like shelter.

I awoke in a dark place, but on something soft. I tried to get up, but I couldn't touch my arms to anything. It just hurt too badly. I wiggled to a sitting position, and looked at my hands. My black hands were covered in red spots. Burns, probably, aggravated by my flight here. Where was I, anyway? I looked around, and with a start, I realized that although it was almost completely dark, I could see very well. Again I wondered why night vision should shock me. A part of me thought it was perfectly natural. The space I was in was small, with shelves lining the walls. Several boxes were on the floor, and when I looked down, I saw I was sitting on a pile of blankets. It seemed to be a storage shed of some kind.  
Then, I began to hear something. I listened and found it came from the far wall. I went to the wall and listened again. It almost sounded like voices. There was a ladder on the wall, leading up to a crawlspace above what I guessed was a room in a house. Climbing up, I found that light was seeping in from a crack in the floor, or the ceiling, depending on where you were, I suppose. The voices were coming from the crack. I wanted to look in, but something told me it would be… "spying". I ignored it and looked in. I saw two women sitting by a fire, talking. One, with long, black hair was sewing, while the other, who had red hair was polishing a long, thin sword. Such a difference of activities in the same room almost made me laugh.  
Wait…laugh? What was that? As if on cue, one of the women laughed, a light and airy sound. I decided to listen closer. "…and he literally tripped over himself getting in the door! At least, from what I heard," Said the sword -polishing woman.  
The other woman sighed. "You're so lucky that you get to stay home, Kate. I have to go to work every day. I'm always worried about those horrible things"  
"Ugh. Tell me about it. They smell horrible, too. Like death. Oops!" She dropped the rag she was polishing with, and it fell right in front of her. She reached down and groped for it, but seemed to not know where it was. I realized Kate was blind. It took a minute for a part of me to register she could not see. It was just then that one of my antennae brushed the ceiling. Kate's head snapped up, right towards were I was. I moved from the hole just as the other woman looked to where Kate was looking. "Did you hear that, Freya"  
Freya sounded a bit worried. "What, did you hear something"  
"Yeah, in the attic. I think I smelled something strange, too"  
"Like what"  
"Like those…things. The Heartless"  
Freya gasped. "You think they're in the attic"  
"I don't know. I'm going in there"  
"Are you sure"  
"Yes, sister, I'll be fine"  
I heard Kate walk out of the room, leaving Freya behind. As much as I wanted Kate to not find me, I had to see what Freya was doing. I felt a strange connection to her, for some reason. I felt as if that I had met her before, yet I did not remember her. Like most everything else.  
She looked a bit scared. "Ohh….I wish Victor was here…" 


	4. Chapter 4: Companion

Chapter 4:Companion

My mind spun as I heard Kate open the door. What do I do?! I decided to sit as still as possible. She frowned and cocked her head, listening for any sign of me. She stepped forward slowly, using her sword as a feeling stick. She stopped right in front of the blankets I was sitting on and sniffed. I was sure she would be able to hear my heartbeat. She closed her eyes and appeared to be concentrating hard on something. Suddenly, her frown turned into a smile. "It's nothing, sister," she yelled loud enough for Freya to hear in the other room. "You're positive?" Freya queried back.  
"Yes…" She looked right where I was sitting and smiled. "Just some rats"  
She turned on her heel and was out the door. I sat for a long time, calming my heart enough to move.

That night, I resolved to think deeply about what had happened on that day. Of all the events of the day, two things stuck with me most.  
One was that, in the fight I experienced earlier, Leon/Squall called me a Heartless. I had no idea what one was, but I was sure I wasn't one…  
At least until I heard what Kate had said. She said I smelled like one of them. A Heartless. Once I thought about it, it almost made sense. I wasn't human…but was I truly one of my former brethren? Were they the Heartless?  
We had never had names, besides me. Had the humans given them a name? But I wasn't one of them. But I also wasn't one of the humans. What was I?  
It was the oldest question in the world. One of self-seeking. It made my head spin, so I tried to think of something else. I had spoken to the boy Sora earlier. Could I do that again? I tried to do what I did earlier.  
"I…am…Ven-tree-um"  
My own voice startled me. It was not very deep, but not very light, either. My throat sounded dry and cracked. I tried again.  
"I am…Ventrium"  
It sounded better, but I tried some more.  
"I am Ventrium"  
I kept repeating it, ecstatic from my newfound gift of speech.

All night I practiced, and into the next morning. I felt like I should be doing something during the night, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Early in the morning, after practicing my speech, I cautiously opened the door that led outside the shed. It seemed to open up into an alley. I must have ran down the alley, toward the darkness yesterday. There was another door in the alley, presumably leading into the house. The alley turned at the end, so no one would see me. Walking on tiptoe, I opened the door that Kate had probably used the day before. I gathered the day before that Freya would not be here, so she would not see me, and Kate…would not see me anyway.

I thought that maybe the reason people shunned and feared me was that they could see me. If they did not see me, would they accept me? Would they listen to what I said, or fear me like the rest?  
I gathered my courage and walked inside. As I walked in, I heard some light humming. The tune was familiar, but like all else, I could not remember it completely. I walked in farther, my feet silently padding on the floor. I was in the room I saw the two women in yesterday. I saw the crack in the ceiling I was looking in the room through. It was one of many, though some were patched up, although badly. Entering a new room, I saw the source of the humming. Kate was washing dishes, humming a slow, soulful tune. I padded silently over to the door, opened it, and shut it, ringing the bell that was attached to the door. Kate looked up and smiled.  
"Hello, traveler! Welcome to the Seven Princesses. Are you interested in a room"  
Forcing myself to speak, I shakily answered her.  
"Yes, please"  
She nodded and brought out a book.  
"Would you like a double, or a single room"  
I frantically tried to remember what this meant.  
"Just a single, thank you"  
Where my memories coming back?  
She did not seem to sense anything odd about me, so I asked her a question.  
"I'm sorry, I'm new to the area, and I was wondering what this 'Committee' is that I've heard so much about"  
"Well, since the we retook the area from the Heartless, Leon, Yuffie and a few others volunteered to defend the city until we could get proper defenses up. A computer whiz made up those claymores, which you probably saw in the square today, but they aren't really enough to beat back the Heartless enough. So the Committee have to destroy the Heartless by hand"  
I swallowed at this.  
"And…just what are the…Heartless"  
She gave me look as if to say that I, of all people should know.  
"Well, the Committee says they're the darkness in people's hearts, but most don't care what they are, as long as they stay away from us. Just sign your name here, please"  
Still shaky about this information, my hand took the pen and signed the book without me knowing. It was only after I put down the pen was it that I looked at what I had written.  
Victor Hart 


	5. Chapter 5: Remembrance

Chapter 5: Remembrance

Shakily I made my way to the room she had told me to go to. I realized then that was why those people had attacked me earlier. They had good reason to. I was…a monster after all. But I hadn't done anything…had I? Was I a monster by birth? Or by association? I'm not evil, am I? I entered the room in a stupor. I had finally found out what I truly was…  
Or had I? How had I known what clothes were? Or how to fight? I knew what right and wrong were, but how did a soulless monster learn something like that?  
I can't be. I was not a monster, but something else entirely. But that led me back to the same question, the one that tortured me.  
What am I?  
I shook my head, trying to clear the thought. It was then I actually noticed where I was. It didn't look like an inn room, not that I had any clear idea what an inn room should look like. It was nicer, and seemed more personal, with pictures and trophies on the walls. One of the pictures had an old man with snow white hair, and a beard next to a youth with baggy clothes. It looked a bit old. Another had the same youth in a laboratory, looking with awe at the vials and tubes. The old man was behind him, smiling. A larger picture turned the series into an unpleasant one. The young man was in a hospital, bandages around his chest and arms. Although he was smiling, one could see he was weak. Wait…in the picture, the boy's hair was spiky and bright red, almost pink. I looked at the previous picture. The boy's hair was short and brown. Looking again, I found that his eyes had changed as well. From blue to a orange-yellow. After this hospital picture, all the pictures are of victories, wrestling trophies, sprinting trophies, math ribbons. What had sparked such a change in the boy?  
I suddenly felt dizzy, but I walked on anyway, wishing to delve deeper in this boy's life. The bed, I noticed as I passed, was large, a queen size. If the boy was still alive, he was almost certainly not alone. As I went on, I saw signs of the boy getting older, pictures and items on the shelf. I came across an item that puzzled me. Arm guards, decorated with peculiar hearts and spiked vines. I felt a wave of nausea, almost enough to knock me off my feet. I leaned against the wall until it passed, then went on. On a low dresser there was a jewelry case with a glass front. It contained necklaces and rings of various styles. So he was married. Then, I came across a picture. A simple picture in a heart-shaped frame. It pictured the boy, no longer a boy, and a woman. Freya.  
At this moment, I was hit by a wave of pain so great, I could no longer keep my balance. It came from my head, a shockwave of agony that ricohted around my body. My body writhed involuntarily, knocking several things to the ground. It felt as if my very nerves were on fire. Amid the pain there was a dreadful sensation of opening as my brain seemed to unfold and break the veil that had blocked my memories. They began as flashes of thoughts, snatches of vivid memories, then they began to get stronger, growing in strength and number until their shock was almost greater than the pain. I never wanted it to end.  
The soothing memories, the greatest victories, the most embarrassing defeats, filled my head like water fills a bowl. I finally remembered everything. The pain slowed and stopped. And they still came, washing over me, soothing in their familiarity. I reveled in each new memory, reliving my life at warp speed. Then it stopped. Slowly, I rose, my vision blurring, then finally, focusing.  
This was my room! No…our room…Freya! I had to find her! She must be so…  
At this moment, I spotted the mirror. Somehow, I had missed it earlier. For a moment, I readied to attack the creature in the mirror. Then I realized it was me. 


	6. Chapter 6: Reunion

Chapter 6: Reunion

My…face.

My mind reeled, trying to accept that it was me.  
A pitch black face with no visible mouth, red spiky hair and…eyes. Glowing yellow eyes.  
The antennae that had a moment before seemed normal and ordinary seemed unnatural and…wrong. My shirt was unbuttoned partially, and I saw It.  
I tore my shirt off, praying that It wasn't really there. But It was. A black and red heart, with spikes on the bottom.  
Heartless.  
Finally, the shock caught up with me. I got down on my knees and sobbed. It was true. I was one of them.  
"Victor"  
I jumped and swiveled, in no mood to face another foe. Instead a red-cloaked figure stood in the room that had been empty a moment ago. His face was shrouded by a bizarre mask.  
"I'm terribly sorry, Victor. I never meant for this to happen"  
With all the thoughts swirling around in my mind, his sentiments fell on deaf ears.  
"Who are you!?" I roared, stepping forward.  
The man was not shaken, and his deep voice rumbled, "Do you not recognize you uncle, Victor? I thought that after all our time together, you would not have forgotten"  
My newly recovered memories clicked things into place. He had been my mentor and caretaker for years after my mother had died. He had treated me like his own. Especially after the accident. After that, he seemed to treat me as his son, his own flesh and blood, as if he had…created me.  
"Uncle Ansem? You died"  
"And so did you, yet here we are. That fact is my fault, mostly"  
I calmed down, perhaps soothed by a familiar…presence, at least.  
"What happened to me? All I remember is…The Committee"  
I had been a member, fighting the Heartless. I had fought alongside Leon, Yuffie…until…  
"Do you remember the accident, Victor? The one in my lab"  
Suppressed memories began to unfold. The explosion…I had snuck into his lab, the one with the live Hearts, floating in jars. There was also a curious little black thing, swirling in a tank, periodically banging the walls, desperate to get out. I loved to bang on the glass back at it. I'd tap out a rhythm, and it would echo my tapping. I was so happy trying to stump the little thing I didn't hear Uncle Ansem's apprentice, Xehanort, come in. I never really trusted him. Something about him just felt...wrong.  
"Fascinating, isn't it? A being of pure darkness. And slightly intelligent, at that"  
I turned with a start.  
"Oh, Xehanort, I'm sorry, I"  
"It's quite all right, Victor…I…" He sighed and looked straight at me. "How would you like to change the world, Victor"  
"Well, maybe when I get older"  
"No, now, Victor. How would you like to be a part in something bigger than just this world? Spanning worlds unknown to any mortal man"  
"Yes! What do I have to do"  
He stepped back a few paces, then put his hand over a lever on a console.  
"Just…give in." He pulled it.  
A heavy glass wall fell from the ceiling and slid into a groove on the floor. It hissed, sealing itself. The other exits in the room sealed themselves, cutting off escape. I looked at my Xehanort frantically, but he wasn't alone. The apprentices had come in the room, standing aside or behind my him. Xehanort was standing before the glass with almost a hungry look on his face. Just then,my Uncle came into the room. His eyes widened in shock. He dropped the cup he was holding. He ran to Xehanort and grabbed his shoulders. He shook him like a doll, throwing him too the ground and yelling at him. Frantically, Ansem tried to pull levers on nearby consoles. Xehanort got up and put his hand on Ansem's shoulder. I saw him look at me and say something to my Uncle. I could read his lips.  
No. It's too late.

Alarms went off, lights flashed, sirens blared. It was as if announcing the ending of the world. The little black thing darted back and forth in it's tank, in expectation of something. At this point, I panicked and banged on the glass wall, yelling and screaming to be let out. Then the alarms stopped. The tank's walls lowered, and the thing crept out. As it moved, it took on a more solid shape. Antenna grew out of it's head, and it's yellow eyes glowed brightly. It's body was pure black. If I wasn't horribly terrified at the moment, I'd almost say it was cute. It crept closer to me, and I could do nothing but stare at it. It crawled right up to me, reached out a hand, and touched my chest. I gasped as it seemed to sink right in, entering my chest. No, more like it was crawling inside my soul. I had a vague notion it was trying to take something from me.  
My heart. It's trying to steal my heart.  
An awful sensation filled me as it tried to find my heart. But I fought it. Darkness came with the creature, and I fought it, too. Until I found it was helping me. I accepted it, and the thing drew back. By accepting the darkness, I could drive the thing away. I felt stronger, and my body absorbed darkness like a sponge. It was changing. I could hear the other's voices from the other side of the wall. I could smell chemicals and smells I could not smell before. But the thing was still inside. I put my hand on my chest to try to dislodge the thing but it was inside. I stood up, bracing myself against the wall. I tried to fight the thing from the inside, but I was losing. Then I tried not fighting it, drawing back inside myself, sucking in more darkness. The room clouded with dark. Just when I felt it had almost found my heart, I repulsed the thing. A shockwave went out, ripping machinery from wall, cracking the glass. The thing flew out, crashing into the wall, and collapsing into darkness. But it wasn't over. Darkness still seemed to cloud the room, producing a detectable thickness, getting thicker by the second. I'd gone to far, absorbed to much. Ghastly thoughts flew through my head, of death and void. When by body reached it's limit, it all stopped, as if someone decided it was enough for me. I collapsed.  
I laid there, half-conscious. I could still hear the wall slowly raised, and the other step toward me. Before I blacked out, I heard Xehanort say something. "He's not like the others, somehow. His heart didn't give in. He's different." 


	7. Chapter 7: Heartless

Chapter 7:

Yes, I remembered it. Now, anyway. My recent shock must have unlocked suppressed memories. "Why…did you let him do that"  
"I didn't. I had no knowledge of those…terrible experiments. I forbade Xehanort to do any more…but he didn't listen. He doomed the worlds, all of them. And he doomed you"  
"Xehanort said I was different. Why was I different"  
"We never could tell. Your heart never fully gave in, just absorbed more darkness. Even when it happened the second time, it never gave in"  
"The second time"  
Questions, questions, and more questions. Luckily, my new capacity for memory allowed me to answer some. I remembered fighting Heartless in Hollow Bastion…I remembered going alone, which was unwise. I also remembered how many there were. Hundreds. While I was fighting one, three jumped on my back. It went black from there. Then I woke…  
"Even in the face of total corruption, your heart never gave in," he said, while walking to the dresser. He picked up the heart-shaped frame. "Your love for her was much too strong. Your heart was always too strong. Like someone else I know…" He chuckled and faced me once again.  
"Do you wish to become whole again? To become yourself"  
"More than anything. Freya can't see me like this. It would break her heart." "Then you must travel with me. To the dark world. Hurry, before"  
Just then, a black portal swirled into existence. A cloaked figure stepped out and said to Ansem, "Ansem, quickly! We must go! The King…" He broke off when he saw me. "What…is that"  
I thought for a minute, then said, "Different"  
Without a word to me or the cloak figure, Ansem stepped toward the portal, but stopped in the doorway. He waved his hand to the cloaked man. The cloaked man stared at me for a second, then stepped through. Ansem was about to leave. "Wait! You said you'd help me! Why are you leaving"  
"…I am a servant of the world. You are an unfortunate being that was never meant to be. An anomaly. It is my duty to help the worlds sort out the anomalies…but I have a feeling that in this case, the worlds will sort out themselves"  
And he stepped through. The portal closed, leaving me alone. I felt more alone than I was. Who could possibly help now? There was no one but…Kate! She understood! That's why she led me to this room, to help jog my memories. I darted from the room to find Kate at the kitchen table. She looked in my general direction and said nonchalantly, "So, you remember"  
I'd have smiled if I'd had a mouth. "Yes, thanks to you." I pulled up a chair and sat at the table. Kate swirled her tea and smiled into her cup. "I knew you'd come back. Hell itself couldn't keep you away from her. They said you were gone, just like all the others. I knew you'd be different, somehow." She sniffled as a tear ran down her face.  
A tremendous load was lifted off of my shoulders. I took her hand in mine. "Thanks for believing in me. But…what about Freya"  
"Oh, you know her. Ms. Rational. She didn't count on you defying the laws of nature. She did miss you terribly, though"  
I sighed and placed my head in my hands. "She can't see me like this. She wouldn't understand." Kate sort of tilted her head and said, "You look fine to me." She laughed and than spoke seriously. "Your voice is the same. Your heartbeat is the same. How have you changed?" I knew I couldn't describe it to her. I took her hand and placed it on my chest.  
She gasped. "You're…cold." As she ran her hands up to my face, her expression changed from cheerfulness to dread. She felt my face, my hair, and she gasped when she felt my antennae. She sat back in her chair, stunned. I waited for what seemed like forever. "My brother…what happened to you? You even smell different. You're"  
"One of them. A Heartless." She drew back upon hearing the word. She shook her head vigorously. "No. No you're not. You may look like one on the outside, but I know you. You're heartbeat hasn't changed. It still beats in tandem with Freya's. You can't be one of them"  
"You can't see me, Kate. I bear their emblem!" I stood up and stepped back. "I even feel like them! My instincts long to steal hearts"  
She stepped toward me and spread her hands wide. "Then take my heart. If you're one of them, take my heart"  
I looked at her. Then suddenly, I could see it. Her heart. It was radiating out from her chest. A part of my mind wanted me to take it, take it and feed upon it, turning it into another one of my kin. I stretched out my hand…I can take it, here and now. Devour her heart…I could take it…But…something held me back. A part of my mind said no. It was unnatural and wrong.  
"So. You can't. I wonder how I knew?" She stepped forward and laid her own hand on my chest. "You're you, not them. How could it be any different? Your heart is too strong to be taken by the Heartless"  
She stepped back and smiled. "C'mon, we've got to get ready"  
"Ready for what"  
"For Freya to come back." 


End file.
